FedEx Betrays Me, Race Report and more...

First, let's start out with some shout-outs:
JAY FISCHLER
JEFFREY MARCUS
KRISTIE COMSTOCK
and my PARENTS

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!

Total to date: $415!!
You all rock!!

Before we get into the race report for the week, check this out: one of the things I am doing to raise money for my Team is to sell items on eBay, with the money going towards my Team total. One of the things I sold was this little ceramic pig that had a chef's apron it. Shut up, it's cute. Anyway, it was bought by the Comstocks. I wrapped it up and sent it to them FedEx Ground and wouldn't you know it, the box arrived damaged and the pig broken. I admit to being a maniacal overpacker, because I am paranoid of boxes breaking in transit (a side note: a couple of years ago I was shipping stuff down to Florida, where I was going to be working for a few months. The box I had my Rollerblades arrived ripped open, and instead of the rollerblades there were a dozen brown short-sleeved shirts. Go figure.) I packed the you-know-what out of that pig, and it was in a brand new box. How could FedEx betray me? Anyway, I filed a claim, and will hopefully get my money back for shipping AND for the pig, because even though they didn't ask, I'm going to reimburse the Comstocks for the pig. Which would be nice because I already made the Comstock's donation to my effort and I don't want to be out any more money.

Anyway, if anyone has anything interesting that they would be willing to donate to me to auction on eBay, with the money going to my Team effort, please let me know -- you can leave me a message on this here site, or email me at marcigee@earthlink.net

So, onto the race report. Today was the Healthy Kidney 10K in Central Park. The Healthy Kidney race is a benefit for the National Kidney Foundation, and it's sponsored by the United Arab Emirates. In 2000, Sheik Zayed (?) someone royal, came to America for a kidney transplant and was so impressed with the doctors and the care he received he sponsors this race every year as a fundraiser. Among the items they were giving away at the race tents were phonebooks for the UAE, the "UAE At A Glance" guidebook, and heart-shaped pins of the Sheik. This 10K is a full loop of the Park, going clockwise. I say this because for those of who not familiar with racing in the Park, if you race counter-clockwise you will go up Cat Hill (by the Boathouse) and up the steeper part of the Great Hill (northern end of the Park,) but the end of the race is on a downhill so you can get a good sprint in to the finish line. When the race is clockwise, you're going the way the Marathon goes, which means your finish is UPHILL. Grrr.

It was a cool, rainy day, and I finished in 56 minutes, not bad for 6 miles and change. It was about a 9:30 minute mile. A minute slower than the last 10K I ran, but considering I have a cold, not terrible. An interesting sight at these races is a guy called Larry the Lighthouse, who runs all the races wearing a giant lighthouse. I don't know how else to explain it. He even ran the marathon in that lighthouse. Well, today Larry had a girlfriend. Can you guess? That's right -- Wendy the Windmill. Most of the time I'm not running with a goal in mind, I just want to do better than Larry. I mean, if I can't outrun a lighthouse... A respectable Fred's Team turnout, but there was also a team training run this morning so some people didn't come. Some of us met up after the race and went out for breakfast.

Best of all, my foot did not hurt at all. My foot had been aching after any runs of over three miles, and I knew it was my shoes because it didn't happen as much with a different pair. I went to Jackrabbit Sports here in NYC, where they did a gait analysis, and lo and behold, we discover that (thanks to the surgery) I am no longer a pronator, which means when I run I put my foot on the ground without rolling to one side or the other. That's why my old sneakers, which correct pronation, were bothering my foot. Okay, that last part was boring to all but runners...okay, all but me. Point is, no foot pain!

Goodies I ordered will be arriving soon, to send out to all my supporters. Please support me and get yours today! Well, not today, but as soon as I get them.

Coming up tomorrow: my brother's LAW SCHOOL GRADUATION!!!